The contacts between Western Europe and the world of Islam took also the form of scholarly work aiming at studying Islamic civilisation and trying to understand it. From the 12th century, monks and scholars took up the cause translating Muslim works and writing numerous works on what the Islamic creed really means and what were the contributions of the Islamic civilisation. By the 19th century, and even in the 18th, more and more European scholars took a more objective look at Islam as a religion, culture and a way of life, praising its good qualities. This section surveys some prominent works of this kind and includes also references to many of the famous Muslim scholars who inspired European scholarship.
| 670s | The Frankish bishop Arculf visits Muslim lands around the Mediterranean such as Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. He relates his travels to a scribe in a monastery in western Scotland. It remains as one of the earliest accounts of Christian-Muslim interactions in Western Europe. |
| 735 | Bede, a Christian monk and biblical scholar, dies in the monastery of Jarrow in Northumbria in England. Some of his works, such as Ecclesiastical History (731), mention Muslims who were making headway in France. |
| 800 | Medicine from the Arab world begins to filter into northern Italy. |
| 812 | The chronicler Theodulf of Orleans reports of Muslim goods and coins circulating throughout southern Gaul. |
| 815 | Jabir ibn Hayyan, considered the founder of Muslim alchemy and founder of modern chemistry, dies. His sulfur-mercury theory is a forerunner of the modern acid-base theory. His classifications of chemical substances and modifications of the Aristotelian theory remain influential in Europe until the advent of modern chemistry in the 18th century. His Book of Seventy and Composition of Alchemy will be translated into Latin in the 12th century. Jabir flourished at the Abbasid court during the reign of Harun al-Rashid until his fall at the hands of political intrigue. |
| 847 | Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi –mathematician, geographer, musician, astronomer, and historian– dies. His celebrated work on algebra Hisab al-Jabr wa-'l muqabala (Book of algebra) enters into the West with a 12th century Latin translation and will remain a staple text of European universities until the 16th century. His work is also credited with introducing the Indian number system, the zero, and negative signs into the mainstream academia of the Islamic world and the West. |
| 925 | Death of Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi, known as Rhazes in the West (b. 865). This Persian Muslim was known as one of history's greatest physicians.His numerous works encompassed topics such as impaired vision, gynecology, obstetrics, and ophthalmology. His pamphlet Of Habit which becomes Natural was a precursor to the Reflex Theory. His book Al Judari Wa-'l-Hasbah, on smallpox and measles greatly pioneered the field and will be translated into many European languages, including Latin and English, and published in excess of forty times between 1498 and 1866. Razi wrote twenty volumes in what would be the most comprehensive encyclopedia of medicine, al-Hawi (Continens). |
| 1013 | The physician Abu Qasim al-Zahrawi (Albucasis) dies. His medical book, exhibiting advanced surgical tools and methods, will be translated in Venice in 1497, Basel in 1541, and Oxford in 1778. He has been known as the Father of Modern Surgery. |
| 1037 | Ibn Sina, also known as Avicenna (980-1037), dies. He mastered all the sciences of his time by the age of eighteen before leaving his birthplace of Bukhara. He found many patrons throughout the Islamic world and his works garnered him much fame. Known in the West by the epithet "Prince of Physicians," Ibn Sina's masterpiece called the Canon, a work on medicine, was translated into Latin during the 12th century and became a virtual medical textbook in Europe until the 17th century. His works on musical theory and geology (he wrote a treatise on the latter published in Latin as De Conglutiatione lapidum also heavily influenced Western thought. |
| 1040 | Ibn al-Haitham dies (Alhazen, born 965). Known as the Father of modern optics, he described various parts of the eye, gave scientific explanations for vision, and studied atmospheric refraction. |
| 1064 | Ali ibn Hazm (born 994) dies. This grandson of a Spanish Muslim convert from Christianity served as vizier to the Umayyads before the dynasty's fall. Ibn Hazm took to a life of scholarship where he is said to have written over four hundred volumes on history, theology, tradition, logic, poetry, and similar subjects. His al-Fasl fi al-Milal w-al-Ahwa' w-al-Nihal (the decisive word on sects, heterodoxies, and denominations) established him as one of the first scholars of comparative religion. |
| 1070 | Ibn Rashiq (born 1000), a famous linguist of Sicily of Greek or Italian ancestry, dies. His Kitab al-umda, written in North Africa, is considered one of the best poetic criticisms in Arabic. |
| 1105 | Ibn Bassal, an Andalusian agronomist whose works were translated into Castilian in the Middle Ages, dies. |
| 1111 | Pedro de Alfonso (b. 1062), a Christian covert from Judaism, dies. His criticisms of Islam's prophet are considered highly influential and perpetuate for generations. |
| 1120 | William of Malmesbury becomes one of the first Western Europeans to differentiate the Muslim faith from paganism, a fact not many were willing to accept at the time. |
| 1124 | Ghyasuddin Abu 'l-Fath ibn Ibrahim al-Khayyam (Omar Khayyam), born in Nishapur (Khorasan province of Persia) in 1048, dies. He was a multifaceted scholar whose scholarship encompassed a wide array of subjects and was well patronized by government officials. He constructed the famous At-Tarikh al Jalali calendar, which, in many respects, is more precise than the Gregorian calendar. Al-Khayyam's celebrated Algebra, a mathematical work that advanced on that of al-Khwarizmi, saw translation in Europe in 1851. His poetical masterpiece, Rubaiyat, entered the West with its 1859 translation by Fitzgerald. |
| 1127 | Stephen of Antioch, a Pisan, translates a significant medical treatise of Ali ibn al-Abbas al-Majusi (d. 994, known as Haly Abbas in the West). |
| 1132 | Ibn Hamis of Sicily (born 1055), knows as the Wordsworth of the Arabs, dies. |
| 1141 | Peter the Venerable, the Abbot of Cluny, commissions a team of Christian and Muslim scholars, under Robert of Ketton, to translate Muslim texts. The project, completed two years later, will yield the first Latin translation of the Quran, a Muslim history of the world, religious explanation, and The Apology of al-Kindi. |
| 1143 | Robertus Rotenesis and Hermannus Dalmata complete the first Latin translation of the Quran. It will not be published until 1543. |
| 1154 | Al-Idrisi (1100-1166) completes his principal geographic work known under its abbreviated title as The Book of Roger. Al-Idrisi, a favorite at the Sicilian court, also produced a spherical globe for King Roger II. |
| 1161 | Death of Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik Ibn Zuhr in Seville. His Book of Diets and other works garnered him repute as one of Muslim Spain's greatest physicians. He belonged to the Ibn Zuhr family, Avenzoar in the West; for two generations they produced many famous doctors, including a woman, in al-Andalus. |
| 1170 | Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Mazini (born ca. 1080), the Granadan geographer, dies. This Hispano-Arab visited Russia in 1136 and reported the first known documented case of trade in fossil mammoth ivory. The ivory was exported as far as Central Asia. |
| 1172 | The Arab-Sicilian intellectual Ibn Zafar al-Siqilli dies in poverty in Syria. Born in 1104 under Norman rule, Ibn Zafar left Sicliy and traveled around the Arab world. He is best known for his Sulwan al-Muta fi ‘Udwan al-Atba (Consolation for the Ruler During the Hostility of Subjects), translated into Italian in 1851 and into English in 1852. Scholars consider this work, which advises a ruler on actions pertaining to restless subjects, a precursor to Machiavelli's The Prince. |
| 1183 | Muslim historian Ibn Bushkuwal (Abul Kasim Khalf ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Masud ibn Musa) dies. He was born in Cordova in 1101. |
| 1185 | The celebrated philosopher, physician, and poet Ibn Tufail dies in Morocco. During his lifetime he held the position of chief physician to Abu Yusuf Yaqub, the Almohad caliph. Some scholars argue that his philosophical treastise Hayy ibn Vaqzan (the living son of the vigilant), about an individual alone on an island discovering the truths of God, is an early example of the novel and the inspiration for Defoe's Robinson Cruseoe. The piece was translated into Latin in 1671, Dutch in 1672, Russian 1920, and Spanish in 1934. |
| 1198 | Ibn Rushd, known as Averroes in the West, dies. Born to an eminent family of judges (qadi-s) in 1126 in Cordova, Ibn Rushd would establish himself as one of the world's greatest scholars. His numerous works encompassed medicine, philosophy, jurisprudence, grammar, and astronomy. His thoughts and rationalist views, known as Averroism, eventually found popularity in Europe. Ibn Rushd's Kitab al-Kulliyat fil Tib (General Rules of Medicine) saw its Latin translation under the title Colliget in 1537. 1859 gave Germany a translation of his philosophical works Kitab Fasl al-Maqal and Kitab al-Kashf Manahij al-Adilla. His commentaries on Aristotelian and Ancient Greek thought reintroduced Europe to these philosophical doctrines. Ibn Rushd's works saw greater popularity in the West than in the Muslim world. |
| 1200 | Oxford University is established in England. It counts as one of its first instructors Adam da Marisco (Adam of the Moors or Adam of Moorish blood). |
| 1231 | Spanish Muslim historian Ash-Shakandi (Abul Walid Ismail) dies. |
| 1240 | Ramón de Peñalfort resigns his post with the Dominican friars to devote his time to preaching to Muslims, which results in the founding of missionary schools for Arabic. Ibn al-Arabi (born 1165) of Murcia, the renowned devot and Sufi, dies. His famous works include al-Futuhat al-Makkiyah (Meccan Inspirations), Fusus al-Hikam (Gems of Wisdom), and Tarjuman al-Ashwaq (Expressions of Longing). |
| 1245 | St. Albert the Great arrives in Paris, as tradition holds, wearing Arab dress. |
| 1248 | Ibn al-Baitar dies. This Malaga native is considered to be the last of the great Muslim botanists and pharmacologists, two fields that the Spanish Muslims dominated. |
| 1311 | At the Ecumenical Council of Vienne, Majorcan Ramón Lull (1232-1315) –knight, author, traveler, and spiritualist– convinces the clergy to establish schools at universities such as Paris, Oxford, Bologna, and Salamanca teaching Arabic and Islamic studies. |
| 1375 | A Catalan map drawn by Abraham Cresques of Majorca depicts an image of the Muslim ruler of Mali Mansa Musa. Mansa Musa and his realm will appear on maps well into the next two centuries with the inclusion by Martin Waldseemuller in 1516. |
| 1406 | The scholar Ibn Khaldun dies. Known as the father of social sciences, he is best known for his Muqaddima (Introduction or Prolegomena), a highly influential social critique. He was well traveled and known among many contemporary rulers including Pedro the Cruel and Amir Timur. |
| 1458 | Spanish bishop John of Segovia dies. His translation of the Quran, done with the help of a Muslim Spaniard, disappears after his death. |
| 1460 | Nicholas of Cusa writes Cribratio Alchoran (The Sieve of the Quran). |
| 1482 | Florentine humanist Francesco Berlinghieri dedicates his Latin translation of Ptolemy's Geography to Bayazid II. Originally, he dedicated it to Muhammad II, but changed it following the latter's death. |
| 1486 | Europe's first known printing of Arabic writing occurs in Bernhard vonBreydenbach's Peregrinationes, which discusses trade and customs of the East. |
| 1529 | Martin Luther's On War Against the Turk comes out. It advocates the rationale that the Turks act as God's scourge against the Christians for their deviation from the true faith. |
| 1531 | Otto Brunfels, dubbed the father of botany, edits a publication of the 9th-century scholar Ibn Sarabiyun (Serapion the younger), who had influenced the former in his field of expertise. |
| 1538 | The Latin text of Andreas Vesalius's six anatomical tables, preceding his main work Fabrica, gives a large number of Arabic terms. |
| 1550 | Published in Basel, the Sylloge scriptorum adversus mahomedanos becomes a milestone of Islamic studies in Europe. Due to its attack on the Catholic church, it will not see too much circulation in Catholic areas. |
| 1593 | Ibn Sina's Qanun is printed in Rome and will soon become a staple in European medical curriculum. |
| 1600 | John Pory translates Leo Africanus's Geographical Historie of Africa. |
| 1603 | Richard Knolles's The Generall Historie of the Turkes comes out. |
| 1615 | English Arabist William Bedwell (1563-1632) writes Index Assvratarvm Mvhammedici Alkorani, That is, A Catalogue of the Chapters of the Turkish Alkoran, as they are named in the Arabicke, and known to the Musslemans . . . Gathered and digested according to their naturall order, for the benefite of Divines, and such as favour these studies |
| 1619 | Relations of the Christianitie of Africa, and especially of Barbarie and Algier, published by Purchas, states that between 1609 and 1619, the highest number of renegades came from lower Germany with 857 renegades, followed by 300 from England. |
| 1637 | Archbishop Laud presents to Parliament A Form of Penance and Reconciliation of a Renegado or Apostate from the Christian Religion to Turcism discussing readmission of converts to Islam back to the church. |
| 1638 | Edward Pocock presides as the first Professor of Arabic at Oxford. He translates Arabic texts into Latin becoming his Specimen Historiae Arabum. |
| 1647 | Andre du Ryer, French Consul in Egypt, translates the Quran into French from the first Latin translation by Rotenesis and Dalmata (1543). It will be heavily criticized by future scholars for its gross mistranslation. |
| 1649 | Alexander Ross, for the first time in English history, translates the entire Quran under the title The Alcoran of Mahomet, Translated out of Arabique into French; By the Sieur Du Ryer, Lord of Malezair, and Resident for the King of France, at Alexandria. The translation is poor, but it gives the English some idea of Islam as a religion. |
| 1652 | Joshua Notstock writes The Confusion of Muhamed's Sect assuring his readers not to fear a mass conversion of Christians to Islam due to the Quran translation. |
| 1654 | Matthias Wasmuth, Holstein Orientalist and Biblical scholar, publishes Grammatica Arabica noting the importance of Arabic in the study of medicine. |
| 1664 | Zurich Orientalist Johan Heinrich Holtinger's Bibliothecarius Quadripartitus contains an appendix in its third part that surveys Arab scientists. |
| 1697 | Barthélmy d'Herbelot publishes Bibliothèque orientale, a piece which will serve as the standard authority of Islamic and Oriental studies in Europe until the 1800s. The author made use of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish sources. |
| 1698 | Father Ludovic Maracci, the confessor of Pope Innocent XI and taught Arabic by a Turk, translates the Quran into Latin. Many future translations into European languages will be based on this one. |
| 1705 | Charles Hornby finds one of the earliest works in English written in defense of Islam under the title An Account of the Rise and Progress of Mahometanism, and a Vindication of Mahomet and his Religion from the Calumnies of the Christians. It is attributed to Henry Stubbe. Adrian Reland (1676-1718) produces a work on the biography of the Prophet Muhammad. |
| 1708 | Simon Ockley produces the first volume of his History of the Saracens, which takes the approach of looking at history through Muslim eyes. |
| 1709 | Antoine Galland serves as professor of Arabic in the Collège Royal in France. |
| 1723 | Abu'l Fida by John Gagnier (1670-1740) comes out; it is a translation of the works of Abu'l Fida (1273-1331), including a biography of the Prophet Muhammad. |
| 1728 | La Vie de Mahomet of Comte de Boulainvilliers (1658-1722) praises the personality of Muhammad as sincere and enlightened, although still maintains criticism of Islamic theology. |
| 1734 | George Sale translates the Quran into English. Some speculation exist that Ayyub ibn Suleiman may have helped in this translation. Despite its many errors, it is translated into Dutch in 1742, German 1764, French in 1750, Russian in 1792, Swedish in 1814, and Bulgarian in 1902. Although the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge commissioned the work and Sale appeared to uphold Christian superiority, he was still criticized for his validation of Islam and its Prophet. |
| 1735 | The anonymous essay Reflections on Mahometism and the Conduct of Mohammed appears. |
| 1738 | The Gospel of Barnabus, along with the rest of the library of Prince Eugene of Savoy, goes to the Hofbibliothek in Vienna. Councillor of the King of Prussia, J.E. Cramer presented the manuscript to Prince Eugene in 1713. |
| 1751 | Voltaire's Les Moeurs et l'esprit des nations points out the rationality of the Islamic religion in a political system. |
| 1788 | In the included biography of his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon portrays Islam and its Prophet in a negative way. |
| 1809 | Captain A.N. Mathews translates Mishkat al-Masabih, a collection of Hadith organized by al-Tabrizi. |
| 1829 | Apology for the Life of Mohamed by Godfrey Higgins (1771-1833) comes out. Mahometanism Unveiled by Charles Forster (1787-1871) appears. |
| 1832 | German poet and scholar Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (born 1749) dies. Throughout his life, Oriental studies attracted Goethe. Unlike many European philosophers of the period, he held a respect for Islam. However, he never completed his poetic play on the life of the Prophet Muhammad. American author Washington Irving (1783-1859) writes his Tales of the Alhambra reviving an interest in the preservation of southern Spain's Muslim heritage. |
| 1840 | Carlyle's On Heroes and Hero-Worship portrays Prophet Muhammad in a more positive light (compared to some contemporaries) as an outstanding figure in history. |
| 1843 | Gustav Weil (1808-89) publishes his Mohammed der Prophet. In 1864, he will publish a translation of Ibn Hisham's Al-Sira al-Nabawiya (Biography of the Prophet). |
| 1851 | Washington Irving publishes his Life of Mahomet in London. Aloys Sprenger (1813-97) publishes his The Life of Muhammad from Original Sources. |
| 1861 | Alois Sprenger writes and publishes his Leben und Lehre des Mohammad acknowledging Muslim contribution to European academia and exposes many myths about Muhammad. J.M. Rodwell publishes in London an erroneous translation of the Quran. |
| 1867 | On his visit to London, the Ottoman Sultan escorts Queen Victoria to a luncheon at Windsor. The Queen makes him a Knight of the Garter. |
| 1874 | Reginald Bosworth Smith (1839-1908) publishes his Mohammed and Mohammedanism. |
| 1880 | E.H. Palmer publishes his translation of the Quran in London. It is said to contain many omissions and mistranslations. |
| 1892 | J.E. Renan dies. This scholar held the view that free thought in Islamic Civilization died with Ibn Rushd. |
| 1899 | Two Volga Tatars Fatih Karimi, a writer and graduate of Istanbul University, and Shakir Ramiev, a wealthy industrialist, set off from Russia on a three and a half month trip to Belgium, France, Italy, German, Austria, and the Ottoman Empire. In 1902, Karimi published a record of the excursion titled Yavrupa Siyahatnamese. The work proved interesting in its perspective of the West through Muslim eyes, particularly of these men who were Russian citizens and proponents of Jadidism, a movement for the social, religious, ecomonic, and intellectual reform among the Muslims of Central Asia and Russian territories. The work offered praise for the achievements of the West as well as some criticism and lamented the stagnation present in the Muslim world. |
| 1918 | Tor Andrae's Swedish work appears in German as Die Person Mohammeds (The Personality of Muhammad) portraying the Prophet Muhammad as a social and religious leader. |
| 1961 | Montgomery Watt's Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman appears. |
| Late 1970s | In France, the Catholics Bishops' Conference creates a Secrétariat pour les Relations avec l'Islam (SRI) to help educate the church about Islam. |
| 1978 | Edward Said's Orientalism appears and dramatically changes the criticism of scholarship regarding the Middle East. |
